Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai - Costa Mesa

AVOID! No customer service at all! The Japanese waiter Toshiba is just evil and mean. He bully the customer and kids. I hope I could give 0 to the store. AVOID!

As a mom, I have felt the deepest malice and discrimination at this restaurant. There is a clear difference between this employee's attitude towards Chinese people and others, which can be seen from the sneering mockery on Toshiba's face. He even questioned whether I understood his English of waiting for another 10 minutes.

We joined the yelp waitlist outside the restaurant. When there was only one group in front of us, but only two of us were waiting outside, I entered the restaurant and saw an empty table. Then, I asked Toshiba if we could sit at that table, he said no, we must wait for another 10 minutes until this group come or not. Then we said nothing but wait.

Two minute later, another waitress let us in, sat at that table, and
ordered our food. While we were waiting for the food, Toshiba came over to screw things up. Toshiba introduced himself to us and asked if we wanted to give him a bad review. He said he welcomed any bad review and don't forget to write his name down. He even asked if we need the group in front of us to explain why they were late for 10 minutes. And if we want to apologize for other customers because we skip the line?

When I asked to speak with the manager, Toshiba said, he is in charge of the restaurant today and if you see how popular the restaurant was.

I suggest all moms with kids do not dine here because the restaurant discriminate us from heart to action.

Kitakata Ramen, you will lose reputation because you does not teach your employees how to respect customers and moms. You have the right to refuse to serve anyone, but don't forget to put "we discriminate" on the door.

Food was good - had fried chicken as the menu is heavily pork, which I don't eat. There was a vegetarian Ramen which I will try next time. Had a baby with us and they accommodate the stroller real well as he was sleeping.

I’ve been here twice. The first time was about six months ago and was pretty good and the service was good too. When I came today, everything had changed—for the worse. The service was appalling and the food was subpar and some of it was cold: (I will not be coming back here.

Zero start if possible. Don't dream about Japanese standard service, some of the waiter is exact opposite of what you would expect. Toshiba is the person to avoid.

Bad experience. We ordered take out. It was late like about 15 minutes than the app told us to pick up. When we orders it was already took a long time for the order to get ready and it is late when we pick up. That’s is bad for their reputation

Ramen is simple, they make you pay extra for the normal stuff you get anywhere else for free. Juicy chicken is really good. Service is slow

Five stars isn’t enough for the experience I just had at Kitakata. The tan tan ramen is mind blowing. I can’t think of a single thing that would have made that dish any better. Delicious broth, with melt in your mouth pork belly and the most amazing homemade noodles. Our server Audrey was the sweetest. Highly highly recommended.

Lovely place. Gets full fast. The service is fast. We ordered spicy miso soup which is actually spicy and umakara tan tan ramen which has strong sesame taste.

Finished shopping in SCP, spent a fortune and got hungry & tired. What’s the cure? Ramen nearby!

Only less then 10 mins away, and it was recommended by a friend born and raised in OC, it can’t go wrong.

Ramen was great and food aside, the service is one of the best I’ve ever had, cheers!

Vegetarian review FYI. Vegetarian options available but lacking flavor and variety for those items. Not very spicy. No real options for addtional spices, ie sauce or spicy flakes. More creamy broth than flavorful. Additional charges for every little thing to try to make vegetarian ramen decent. Not a very hearty. Ramen noodles are nice though. Hand pulled.

Out of 5
Cleanliness 3
Service 0
Food 3
Atmosphere 2
Price 3

I wish I had better things to say about this place considering the amazing reviews it has. When we first got there, the wait was thirty minutes (I don’t mind). While waiting, I asked for a menu, the host frowned at me and says: yeah, sure. I guess you can take this one. And then proceeds to let me know that there is a menu outside. So I leave the menu and look at the outside menu instead. Once seated, the table and menus were still crusty… there was still crumbs of food on our table.

That host… I don’t know if he’s a new trainee or what but he did not know how to be a good server. They never refilled our waters and when I asked, he reached over the end of the table and motioned with two fingers for me to hand him my cup. He then disregarded the rest of our table and I had to share my water with a friend.

My order was forgotten. Twice. Everyone else got their food and then two waiters came by to ask if everyone had their food. We informed them, twice that I did not. By the time my food came out, everyone else was done.

Also, my friend said the noodles were clumpy but the broth is good. Your karaage is the one thing that semi redeems you.

I will not come back ban nai. Your food is mediocre and service horrendous. Thanks but no thanks.

Staff tried to intimidate me with using their only somewhat "buff" cook over a seating mistake THEY made. Trying to order & mind my own business, not get violent threats. Should have business license revoked. Never coming back, there is plenty of competition that are leagues better

One of the best ramen in town. They make the noodles on site fresh. You can see it being made if you are there for lunch.

I called to check if there any wait time and they say no. It was 5 minutes before visit. But when I arrived there was 20 minutes wait time. They also do not make reservations.

Excellent service, delicious food, fair prices. It can get very busy but staff is quick to acknowledge new arrivals and there’s a nearby trinket store you can peruse while waiting for your table.

Ordered the juicy chicken app, takoyaki, and the vegan ramen.

The chicken was good and crispy. The takoyaki wasn't as great as expected. Very sweet similar to the vegan ramen. Too much sugar/sweetener was used for both dishes to make it enjoyable.

The vibe and service were great!

I was utterly disappointed in that which makes ramen a ramen, the broth. It was thin and clear, as if they have never eaten Japanese ramen before. It was a disaster from that moment on, the meat was thin and smaller than everywhere else. Just to emphasize on the broth, this joint is the FIRST I've ever tried to have the broth this clear and thin, even a Korean joint out in the boondock has thicker and creamier broth than this.